Anti wrinkle diet

We all know that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help you to prevent wrinkles and expression lines. We also know that olive oil can make you look younger. Now, we also know that fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids are the best known anti-wrinkle food. But what we don’t know is what vitamins, minerals and other nutrients these foods have and how they fight against aging skin.

So if we know the nutrients that can make us look younger it will be easy to prepare an anti-wrinkle diet.

Having said that diet alone won’t help you to look younger. You will need to sleep for 8 hours and drink 8 glasses of water.

You will also need to adopt a good skin care routine. You need to start by cleansing your face with a good facial cleanser. Then you need to use a good moisturizer. When you move out in the sun use a good sunscreen with a SPF of above 30. If you feel the need then you can also try a good anti-wrinkle cream.

If you use the above skin care routine then you will surely look younger than your age. Now since you know what to do to look younger, it will be prudent if we can find a proper anti-wrinkle diet for you. But for this we need to know which nutrients you need to look younger.

1. Eat Foods Rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin E

Vitamin C is easily the most important vitamins to fight the signs of aging. Several researches has shown a direct link between low vitamin C intake and prevalence of wrinkles and dry skin. Vitamin C promotes the production of collagen. This is does by neutralizing the free radicals that damage the collagen in the skin. It is also known to deal with other skin problems.

If you combine foods rich in vitamin C with foods rich in Vitamin E then you will be able to enhance the anti-wrinkle effect of vitamin C. Both this vitamins promote the anti-oxidant effect of each other. So it is better to eat foods rich in both. Papaya is fruit rich in both the vitamins and broccoli is a vegetable which has high vitamin E and C content.

2. Consume Foods Rich in Vitamin A and Beta Carotene

Beta carotene is a pigment found in plants that gives them their color. When it enters our bodies it converts to vitamin A. This vitamin is an important nutrient that is needed to protect and repair the skin. Vitamin A deficiency can cause dry skin which is a pre cursor to wrinkles. Most yellow, red and green color foods are rich in vitamin A. These include carrots, mango, and spinach. In fact the word beta-carotene is derived from carrot. Carrots are rich in this vitamin and must be consumed to promote eye health.

Note: A lot of people in Western countries appear to have a genetic variation that prevents them from converting beta-carotene to vitamin A.

3. Lean protein for collagen production

Collagen and elastin are both proteins. Therefore you need to consume lean protein for the collagen and elastin. Lean proteins has amino acids which increases the production of collagen and elastin. As we age our bodies ability to produce collagen reduces. This results in wrinkles and expression lines. Hence it is necessary to consume more lean proteins to look younger.

Now the most important amino acid needed for production of collagen and elastin include glycine, proline and lysine. These three amino acids are found in fish, eggs, meats, nuts and beans. Consuming these foods will give a boost to collagen and elastin production. So these foods must be included in an anti-wrinkle diet.

4. Eat Foods That Contain Coenzyme Q10

The coenzyme Q10 is found in all human cells. It is a vitamin like substance. Our human body is able to synthesize some of its own Q10. As we age the level of production decreases dramatically.

Q10 has anti-oxidant properties which makes it an important nutrient in your anti-wrinkle diet.

It also has the ability to enhance the antioxidant effects of vitamin C and E.

This enzyme is found in many skin friendly foods. The best sources being red meats. Organ meats like liver and heart are rich in this enzyme. Fresh sardines and mussels also are rich in this enzyme. If you are a vegan then you can try spinach, broccoli peanuts and whole grains for this enzyme.

Now one very important point to note is that processing and cooking significantly decreases the amount of Q10 in food. You must avoid frying at all costs.

5. Make Sure You Get Enough Selenium

Selenium can protect you from the harmful effects of the sun. There are antioxidants which depend on selenium for stimulation. These are glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase. To get the most from selenium you must combine it with a vitamin E rich diet. Selenium increases the effectiveness of vitamin E.

The best food to source selenium is chicken liver and shrimp. But if you are a vegan then you can try Brazil nuts.

Combining them with foods rich in vitamin C like papaya will help your skin to repair the damage caused by suns UV damage.

6. Increase Your Zinc Intake

Zinc is a mineral which is needed for youthful skin. Zinc is needed in the important process of converting beta-carotene to vitamin A. it plays an important role in tissue growth and repair. It also regulates oil secretion. It also is needed for the production of collagen. As mentioned earlier collagen is need to strengthen our skin and to prevent wrinkles. It is also essential for the production of superoxide dismutase which is an important antioxidant that helps protect the skin from free radical damage.    

Zinc is present in many foods. Best known sources of zinc include oysters, red meat and poultry. If you are a vegan then you can go for oatmeal. Now zinc that is found in plant sources like nuts, garlic, legumes are not easily used by the body and must be avoided.

Avoid foods with too many fast carbs

We have mentioned a list of nutrients that you need to promote skin health. We have also mentioned the foods rich in theses nutrients. But no diet is complete without mentioning the foods you must avoid

You must avoid white sugar as it damages collagen. Avoid foods like pizza, soda, white bread that contain the so called fast carbs.

They are called fast carbs as they are absorbed quickly into the blood stream and will cause your sugar levels to rise. Eating foods rich in fast carbs will cause your skin to age due to wrinkles formed from collagen damage.

In conclusion

Diet is an important part in your mission to look younger. You must consume the right anti-wrinkle diet. But you need to drink 8 glasses of water and sleep for eight hours along with that. Also a good skin care routine is also important. You must increase the intake of foods rich in antioxidants which can protect the skin. Also protein and selenium rich foods must be an important part of your diet. Don’t forget to avoid sugar and fast carbs.  If you want to look younger.